It’s hard to imagine college students waking before 7 a.m. on a weekend, but on Saturday, Oct. 12th, members of the CMC Women’s Forum traded snooze-time for a chance to assist in the Pomona Chapter of Habitat for Humanity’s first all-women build. This was an incredible and exciting opportunity for the Women’s Forum. Clearly, just by scheduling the event, the Pomona Habitat chapter was making a statement about a woman’s abilities in construction---a field generally regarded to men.

Educating the public on women’s abilities and issues is a subject dear to the members of the CMC Women’s Forum. The group, founded in the fall of 1985, occupies a room above McKenna Auditorium, meeting Thursday nights at 8. Since the beginning of fall semester, our discussions have included talks about eating disorders and reproductive rights. We also attended a September 26th presentation at the Athenaeum by sexual assault counselor Katie Koestner, a well-known advocate for victims of sexual assault on college campuses. And on Sunday, Nov. 3, we ran in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Race for the Cure at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

The recent chance to get involved in Habitat’s all-women build was one we couldn’t pass up, as the Women’s Forum is always on the hunt for community projects. When we visited the construction site initially, the housing project was just two weeks from completion. Our mission, should we accept it, was to add the finishing touches. It sounded easy enough, but we all soon learned that “finishing touches” means a variety of different things.

Katherine Key ’04 and Susan Freese ’04 (who doubled as a site photographer) helped construct a fence in the backyard. “I went there with no previous knowledge,” Key said. “So I didn’t realize how precise you have to be when measuring. It was intimidating at first, but they explained to us what to do, and we learned to do it right.”

Inside the house, Adrienne Cohen ’05 admired a bedroom whose walls had been painted by a volunteer with puffy, white clouds. The room would soon belong to the home owners’ young daughter. “The women have put such care into making this house a home,” Cohen said. “They want to make it the best home possible.”

As other final touches were being completed, volunteers in the Pomona Habitat chapter watched their dream come together as well: The house was a symbol of what women could accomplish when they worked together. There also was a measurable satisfaction in being able to rise to the assignment’s construction challenges: erecting walls, installing cabinetry, and even waterproofing a roof. The women agreed that part of a volunteer’s reward, aside from helping those in need, is learning new skills. Site supervisor Ina Abalar told Women’s Forum volunteers to be proud of their efforts. “You ask questions and avoid mistakes. We have been impressed by that,” Abalar said.

Habitat volunteers were happy to have help the extra help, and in turn, CMC students were appreciative of the project. “Working with the community helps to give us perspective. It helps get us out of the Claremont ‘bubble,’” Cohen said. “It also helps us realize that the best way to prove our worth is to act. These women showed they could construct a house. No one can doubt that now.”

Kate D'Ambrogi '04, left, and Katherine Smyth '03, cycle through a stack of boards while adding finishing touches to a Habitat for Humanity house in Pomona.

Kate Key '04 stands watch over a cement mixer as a Habitat worker follows through with a shovel.